Against the World
by Shila.Smithee
Summary: Untrusting loner, Ellie crosses paths with Rick and the group. Having lost all hope and trust, the group is her last hope. An unlikely person is able to open her eyes to what really matters in this lost world.  Note: italicized is a flashback
1. We Had a Good Run

Ellie stumbled along the empty highway as she heaved for air. She had been running the whole day. She swung her backpack strap over her left arm as she struggled up to her feet. She had to look back and around her continually making sure she didn't have to make another run for it. She called them the '_dead'_, but the most commonly used term she had herd others use was the term _'walkers'_

"_Thank God they're not sprinters. Then I'd be fucked…"_

Ellie laughed at her own comment half-heartedly as if she really were in the company of a clever smartass.

She missed home. Even though it wasn't home, rather a radio station on lock down, all to her, it was more of a home than anything for the longest time.

She deliriously started to sing _Walk the Line_ by Johnny Cash before tripping and landing on her palms, making her skin scratched and raw. She didn't bother to get up this time, she panted as she looked up at the sky, and then contemplated getting up. Instead, she looked around, seeing stretched deserted road, she moved over to the gravel off to the side, convincing herself it would be safer. She then collapsed with another weak laugh.

"_We had a good run."_

She sighed as she pulled out one of the two knives strapped to her lower back. Looking at it in an entranced manner as she ran her thumb along the sharp end. It was stained from all of the walkers she had properly killed. She smacked her lips.

_I'm thirsty._

With that final thought, she struggled up to her knees then stabbed at the ground, the knife going through the dirt. Digging with her knife, she began clawing away though the ground, hoping to reach water to drink; if not then China. Maybe things were going better over there.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

It had been decided. After what had happened at the CDC, the group collectively agreed on moving on to Fort Benning. Although some people didn't like the idea as much as others, Rick was content to have everyone in any kind of agreement. The distance between their current location and the intended destination minimized the hope for any luck. Dale led the line of vehicles with his RV. Andrea sat in the back at the table, still and silent. She hadn't spoken a word since they left the CDC.

Dale didn't feel so talkative either. He hadn't recollected his emotions from the stunt Andrea had pulled. Allowing the task of driving to clear and relax his mind, he silently looked out to the road. It was empty. The graveled area on the right side resembled a desert. He looked along the sides of the road to make sure he didn't miss anything worth stopping for.

He then caught a glimpse of a figure off the side of the road, moving relentlessly in its place. He squinted his eyes as he approached. As soon as he got close enough to see it wasn't a walker, but a woman with long brown curls hacking at the ground, sending a rush of concern through his body.

_Another survivor._

_What is she doing?_

He then put on the hazards to alert the rest of the group behind him and pulled over, the rest of the vehicles following. Andrea still stayed in her place, having no desire to investigate why Dale decided to stop.

"_There's someone on the side of the road. She's alive."_

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Ellie was unaware of her surroundings; her mind was only focused on the cracked creases of her bottom lips as she chewed at them.

_How deep do you have to go to get some goddamn water?_

The hole was not even a foot deep when she heard someone call out to her.

"_You okay, Miss?"_

Startled, Ellie, quickly turned around, pointing her knife at a man in a sheriff's uniform, a group of other people stared at her from behind him seeming just as startled as she was.

_"You okay?" _Rick repeated.

Ellie couldn't help but smile.

"_I thought I was alone." _

"_Can I ask what you're doing?" _The sheriff asked as he walked closer to her.

"_Trying to find water… I guess…"_

"_How long has it been since you've had any?"_

"_A few days… you lose count without a calendar."_

Ellie then put her knife away as she attempted to stand up, falling over instantly. Rick and Dale rushed to help her up on her feet, allowing her to put her arms and weight on them.

"_She's dehydrated. Delirious. I'll get her some of my water." _Dale began to walk her over to the RV with Rick's help.

Once Ellie was handed bottled water, she chugged it down ignoring the small streams running down her chin and neck. She rested her head against the RV as she sat in the shade it casted.

" _Thank you. You didn't have to help me."_

"_We couldn't leave you there hoping to ever reach a drop of water with that kind of digging." _Rick chuckled, Ellie laughed with him.

"_A walker could have taken me. Or worse, a person."_

"Is that really worse?"

Andrea asked her with an expressionless glance, Ellie looked over to her, trying to read her, but the blonde woman was far too blank.

"_Yes, trust me." _Ellie threw the empty bottle across the road. Her hazel eyes stared at the bottle, preoccupied by recent memories and promises she made to herself. Half of which she was breaking at the very moment.

_It won't be any different._

Don't be stupid.

Thank them for the water and walk away.

"My name is Ellie, by the way."

Idiot. Big mistake. You WILL regret this.

The sheriff introduced himself as Rick, the blonde was Andrea, the nice older man was Dale, this small Asian guy named Glenn, there was T –Dog, Carol, sheriff's wife was Lori, the angry looking redneck was Daryl, The buff guy with the nice hair was Shane, and two kids: Carl and Sophia.

_Well, isn't this a diverse bunch…_

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

_The radio station was completely locked down. Ellie knew the ins and outs of the place like the back of her hand. Still, her paranoid isolation kept her from knowing what was going outside. For all she knew, the world was ending and she was still broadcasting music for people to die to. She figured there weren't many people who were listening anyways._

_She had everything she needed to survive the ending of the world.  
>Her music. Her station. Her stocked up lunchroom. Her fiancée.<em>

_It was what she figured was going to be home until they were either overrun or died of starvation._

_Dan was an optimist; he managed to convince her they were living like royalty._

_Who cares about the rest of the world?  
>We have everything we need right here.<em>

_It's just you and me against the world,_

_ Or at least whatever was left of it._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

Hope you enjoyed :)

Feel free to tell me what you think in a review  
>xxxx<p> 


	2. Fight 'Em Off

Ellie sat crossed legged on the hood of Daryl's pick up truck, surrounded by her new company.

It was dinnertime. Even though there wasn't much of a dinner, it was the time where the group got together and preserved whatever they could from a small tradition of ending an evening together.

Ellie observed everyone, some being more interactive than others.

She watched Shane stare at Rick's wife as she avoided eye contact uncomfortably. It wasn't even a stare of adoration, but of desperation.

Andrea was lost in her own thoughts, speaking as little as she had to. Ellie continually noticed her gazing off to whatever was bothering her.

Rick looked exhausted. Not just physically. He must be the unofficial leader of the group. Ellie was impressed to see that no matter how word down Rick seemed, he still managed to keep people going. He wasn't as infallible as he made himself seem.

Daryl was minding his own as he cleaned his gear. He too looked as if he was going through some sort of unresolved business. He seemed like the quiet team player, won't make friends if he doesn't have to. She liked that. No bullshit. Simple.

_These people do not have their shit together._

Ellie thought of how all this emotional baggage must be slowing them down.

She was distracted from her inner thoughts by Rick.

_"So where did you come from, Ellie?"_

"_I worked at a music radio station at Knoxville."_

Rick chuckled as if she misunderstood the question.

"_I mean where did you come from before we found you here?"_

" _I was locked down in the radio station with my fiancée. We were living off of canned ravioli and music."_

"_You were living in a radio station this whole time?" _Glenn's eyes widened with shock. He looked more impressed than anything. Ellie felt everyone's curious eyes on her; she knew she had to explain.

"_And your… fiancée. He didn't …" _Lori, was looking for a sensitive way to ask if he had been taken by walkers.

"_No, he's dead now. Left for dead to be taken by walkers."_

Daryl's eyes shot up from his gear. He suddenly seemed interested in the conversation. He huffed and mumbled something to himself that Ellie couldn't quite catch.

"_What happened?... If I can ask…" _Glenn asked, being just as sensitive as Lori was, making Ellie feel uncomfortable.

"_We made the mistake of trusting someone." _ Ellie sighed before propping herself up, getting off of the truck and started to walk away.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

"_WE HAVE TO GO!" _

_Dan frantically waved his arm over to Ellie as she packed her weapons in her bag: A gun with a silencer, knives, and 12 rounds of ammo._

_We're not going to survive with this… _

_A scruffy bearded man ran into the room where Ellie and Dan were getting their things._

"_They're almost through the door! Let's move it!"_

_The scruffy man was named Mike. Dan and Ellie took him in when they found him running from walkers just a few days before._

_The three ran out of the recording room and headed down the stairs. The plan was so find a way to jam the doors closed to buy themselves more time until they found another way out. Walkers clawed and pounded on the wooden doors. Ellie froze in place._

_We're going to die._

_As the walkers started to break through the wood, there was no way in holding them back. The only other way out was through the back, which was just as infested with walkers. There was no way out._

_Dan looked over at Ellie. He was pale white. Ellie had never seen him afraid before._

_It really is the end._

"_Fight 'em off as long as we can." He said breathless._

_Mike and Ellie nodded as they got their guns out.  
><em>

_They shot with as much precision as they could, making every precious bullet count._

_There were too many of them._

_Walkers flooded in as the doors were broken down. Ellie switched to her knives as soon as they got too close. She moved as fast as she could, doing just as Dan had taught her._

_Through the temple or else they'll get back up._

_Dan used an axe, hacking away at the walkers._

_As soon as they were gaining hope again, more walkers flooded in._

"_Let's make a run for it!" Dan shouted at the other two as he defended himself._

_Mike was well ahead of them. He Ran straight to the doorway to the other way out and looked at the couple without speaking a word._

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ellie screamed._

_No, no, god no. He's abandoning us._

_Everything happened faster than Ellie was ever able to recollect._

_Mike headed off on his own, jamming the door closed behind him to buy himself more time._

"_You fucking asshole!" Ellie ran to the door, pounding on it, trying to break through._

_This really is the end._

_She heard an agonizing scream from her fiancée. Turning around, she saw a walker gnawing at his neck.  
><em>

"_No!" she ran over, stabbing the walker in the temple as Dan fell to the ground._

__**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

The group watched her walk off, everyone dumbfounded to silence.

Daryl placed down his gear and started to head after her.

_"I'll take care of it."_

Ellie wasn't sure where she was planning to go, but as long as it was away, it was good enough.

_I'm not going to make the same mistake again._

_If I die, it'll be because of my own doing._

"_What are you doing?" _Ellie turned around to see Daryl looking at her as if she was crazy.

"_I'm… I'm gonna go now."_

"_Where's that exactly?"_

Ellie sighed, exasperated.

"_I don't know, okay. Just not here, okay? Just leave me alone for god's sake.."_

"_Fine." _Daryl walked back towards the RV, only to see Rick wave his arms towards him, signaling him to go back to her.

With a low growl, he stomped over to Ellie again.

"_You know there's nothing but road for miles."_

"_No, I wasn't aware of it, but I'm an excellent problem solver."_

_"Oh really? How are you going to solve that problem?"_

Ellie stopped in her tracks.

_There is no solution to this mess._

"_Aren't you tired of running?" Ellie was taken aback by the question._

_Yes._

"_No. It's the new way of life isn't it?"_

Ellie looked at Daryl in the eyes, before dropping her gaze to the ground.

"_You don't gotta prove anything to no one."_

She didn't know whether to be impressed or annoyed that the man had something better to say. She let out a heavy sigh as she met his eyes again.

"_I lost the only person in the fucked up world that mattered to me, the only one that gave a shit if I was still breathing. I lost him by putting faith in…humanity, I guess."_

"_You'll fit right in. You're not the only one with problems." _Daryl retorted dryly.

Ellie laughed softly.

"_You're cramping my style."_

Daryl grinned.

"_Come on, before you manage to do something more stupid than digging a hole with that knife of yours."_

Ellie laughed again as she followed Daryl back to the RV in a defeated manner.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

Hope you enjoyed :)

Feel free to tell me what you think in a review  
>xxxx<p> 


	3. Served Me Well

_A pile of dead walkers clogged the entrance to the building. Ellie managed to fight every last one of the hoard. She was sure more would be coming. _

_Dan groaned as his hands trembled, coughing up blood, staining his navy blue shirt._

_Sobbing, Ellie dragged him to a small closet where all the tapes of recorded interviews were organized for what used to be her radio station. What ever happened to that world?_

_Kneeling above him, Ellie sobbed as she ran her fingers through his hair, watching him grow paler, feeling him grow hotter as beads of sweat covered his face._

"_I don't know what to do, baby. Tell me what to do…"_

_Dan's neck was ripped showing the grotesque shape of his muscle, blood soaking his shirt. He trembled as he reached for her hand, trying to stay as he was as long as he could before slipping away and leaving her completely alone._

"_No, no, no. Don't do this. Don't cry. You gotta keep going."_

"_That's not enough! No!"_

_Ellie sobbed even more, her tears covering her face._

_Dan chuckled, causing him to cough more blood, sending chills down Ellie's spine._

"_Yeah you do, babe. What else is there to do but to keep going?"_

"_Nothing… there's nothing left." Ellie whispered._

"_Sure there is." Dan managed to smile between his heaves and groans._

_Ellie hated him for smiling. There was nothing to smile about._

_She leaned in to kiss his lips, feeling his burning fleshed as their lips touched. Dan managed to hold her into the kiss as she silently cried._

_As she leaned away, Dan was no longer smiling._

"_I'm sorry." He managed to say as it was becoming harder to speak, his eyes growing heavier._

_Ellie closed her eyes, she couldn't watch. She embraced him, feeling his body softly jerk as he struggled to breathe. The noises were illustrating the image she didn't want to see. His coughing, choking, gasps, his breaths growing shorter until they suddenly stopped._

_Everything grew still and quiet._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

At dawn, the group was setting up to continue down the road. Ellie was in the process of gathering her own things together.

Glenn kneeled next to her looking at her uncomfortably as she continued with what she was preoccupied with.

"_I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have asked. That was really stupid of me…" Glenn began remorsefully before Ellie cut him off._

"_Don't. Please don't be sorry, it's not a problem." _ Ellie stopped folding her jacket to look up at the Asian guy, offering a small smile to reassure him.

"_It is though."_

"_It's really not. I come in all bat shit crazy and mysterious, how can I not expect people to ask about how I got here?"_

Glenn gave a weary smile, still feeling guilty.

"_I think it's safe to say we all lost a bit of sanity." _ Glenn admitted as he watched Ellie continue to work.

"_Shit, I was trying to get to your hometown with that stupid digging of mine." _ Ellie dryly cracked with a chuckle.

Glenn broke out in laughter.

"_I'm not Chinese." _

"_Whatever."_

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

_Ellie shot Mike at the back of each knee as she walked out of a dark corner behind him. He let out an agonizing scream as he fell to the ground._

_She walked up to him, kicking him to roll over to face up so he would be able to see her._

"_WHAT THE FUCK, YOU CRAZY BITCH!"_

_Ellie him in the face with the silencer attached to her gun. She kneeled above him, pilling him closer to her by the collar of his shirt._

"_I would shut the fuck up if I were you." She gritted her teeth as she looked at the man with disgust._

"_What -Why are you doing this?"_

"_You left us for fucking dead after we saved your sorry ass and took you in!" Ellie shouted in his face, shaking him and tightening her grip._

"_I had to! You saw how many of them there were!"_

"_Yet I still managed to kill every last one of them, you miserable shit." She tossed him down to the ground._

"_Where's Dan?"_

_Ellie didn't respond, she just stared at him angrily._

_Dan convinced me that letting you in was the right thing to do._

_She grabbed him by the collar, dragging him to a window. She dropped him next to her as she broke through the class with her gun._

"_What are you doing?.. Elle.. ELLIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"_

_Only Dan called me Elle._

"_We're on the third floor, this isn't going to kill me." Mike retorted to Ellie's silence, reassuring himself._

"_I know."_

_She pulled him up, holding him near the window._

"_You wouldn't…" _

"_I'd be quiet, if I were you."_

_Ellie shoved him out of the window, his scream echoing down the streets, shortened by the sound of his legs cracking as soon as he hit the pavement, triggering another cry._

_Ellie aimed and shot at a nearby car from the window, triggering its alarm. Alerted, walkers from all areas of the street rushed to the sound, finding Mike on the ground. Ellie watched as the walkers covered Mike's body; his cries of agony piercing the air._

_Ellie walked away from the window in a trance. Feeling as empty as ever._

_Now it's my turn to get away with a distraction._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

Ellie was packed and ready to hit the road. Throwing her backpack on, she held one of her knives in her hand. The one she so wisely decided to start digging with.

She looked at the dulled out blade sadly.

_Don't tell me I have to part with you too…_

She ran her thumb across the edge, seeing if there was any hope for the knife. It was too dull to do anything with.

"_Ellie! We're heading out!" _Dale called at her from the RV before heading back in to his place in the driver's seat.

"_I'm coming!" Ellie called back without taking her eyes off the knife._

"_You served me well." _Ellie whispered under her breath.

"_Return from whence you came." _Throwing it across the road towards the graveled area, watching it land several feet away.

_Nice throw._

"_What the hell was that?" _ Ellie was startled to hear Daryl's voice from behind her.

"_Dear God—you startled me."_

Dixon remained silent, looking at her, perplexed.

"_Oh.. haven't you seen Arrested Development?" _ Ellie chucked proudly at her reference to the show as she parted with her knife.

"_What?"_

"_Never mind." _Ellie took a step to head to the RV.

"_No. Jesus Christ, woman. I mean why the hell did you just throw your knife?"_

"_It's dull. It's worthless." _

Both Ellie and Daryl were exchanging looks at each other, thinking the other was crazy.

"_I have a sharpening block you can use for it."_

Ellie looked at him stunned.

"_I supposed I should retrieve it then." _Embarrassed, Ellie asked as she tilted her head, scratching her head.

"_Well if you want to be smart about it, yeah." _ Daryl spoke in the most obvious tone.

Ellie made a halfhearted jog to the knife and picked it up, hoping to find her dignity with it.

It was nowhere to ne found.

She jogged back to Daryl.

"_Dear lord…" _Daryl looked at her from head to toe.

"_Got it. Where's the block?"_

"_It's in my truck, there's no way I'm letting you walk away with it. I don't trust you with it."_

"So I guess I'm riding with you…"

"_I guess."_

Ellie submissively sighed.

"_Fine. Let's hit the road then."_

"_Just follow me, crazy…" _Daryl mumbled as he led her to the vehicle.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Hope you like this chapter, I had fun with it! :)

Reviews are so very welcome!


	4. Ground Rules

_Ellie was convinced she was the last person on earth. _

_Everything was harder to do on her own. Everything had to be more thought out.  
>She kept going solely on the fact that she didn't want to disappoint Dan.<em>

_He would have wanted to go on._

_She decided it was time to move. She couldn't stay locked in a radio broadcast station to the end of her days; First because it wasn't safe anymore, and secondly because the lingering reminders of Dan were salt on a wound that was still too._

_Going around the back of the building to avoid walkers, she began to sneak away slowly and quietly. She was too worn out to alert and fight off any walkers. She had to pass by a few buildings before getting to the open road._

_Ellie looked around and behind her cautiously once she was approaching the most crowded center of the town._

_Turning a corner as she looked behind her, she ran into a walker._

_Startled she backed away, looking up at the walker, her back running into a fence._

_The walker had long shoulder length hair, the curls greased and dirty. The skin was a pale white with an undertone of green. The eyes that were once identifiable to be brown were foggy and glazed, with yellow around the pupils. The walker had a worn down navy blue shirt soaked with blood from the collar down. The neck gnawed off where the skin rotted with infection._

_Ellie gasped, her eyes instantly tearing up as she covered her own mouth to prevent herself from screaming._

_The walker looked at her, letting out a low growl as it slowly approached her._

_Ellie remained frozen, sobbing._

_You didn't deserve this; I should have taken care of you._

_The walker reached towards her, she slapped his arm away._

"_Dan.. Dan?"_

_The walker again reached to grab her mindlessly, the guttural growls growing angrier._

_Ellie then slipped around him and behind him, trembling as she took out her knife._

"_I don't want to do this…"_

_She then opted to run away, being chased by the walker. Tripping and falling, she quickly turned around to see Dan running towards her._

_Fighting him off as he tackled her, she struggled to keep from being bitten._

_As they wrestled, Ellie kicked him off, and then jumped on him, stabbing him between the eyes in one swift move. _

_Everything was still and quiet again._

_Looking her fiancée lie flat on his back, she pulled the knife out, shaking in horror._

_Unable to collect her emotions and thoughts, she stoop up and began to sprint to the end of the town and towards the empty road._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

The car ride was a quiet one.

Ellie was sharpening her knife Daryl kept his eyes on the road. The only sound that filled the car was the engine and the scratching sound from the blade on the block.

Ellie sighed from frustration and boredom, resting her head against the window.

"_That didn't take long for you to get tired." _Daryl in a snarky tone.

_Ellie looked over at the light haired man._

_That's the first thing you say in these past two hours?_

"_Oh no. Don't be mistaken. I can go all night long. I'm just giving the blade a rest. I don't wanna wear it out." _ Ellie retorted, causing Daryl to snort out a chuckle.

"_Hey, don't you ever have anything pleasant to say?" _Ellie asked with a playful undertone.

"_When the hell do I give you sass?" _Daryl said defensively, keeping his eyes on the road.

Ellie stared at him, appalled. She began to quote the things he's said, mimicking his southern accent.

_"What the hell was that? Jesus Christ, woman,. Well, if you want to be smart about it…"_

Her accent was so poor that Daryl smirked under the face he made at her.

"_I don't talk like that."_

_"Yeah you do." _Ellie continued to mimic his accent.

"_Stop. You're impersonation is shit."_

"_See! There you go again! Say something nice!"_

Daryl looked over at her, furrowing his eyebrows.

"_Come on…" _Ellie insisted with a small smile.

Daryl looked at her, his eyes trailing down her body, then the quickly shifted back to the road.

"_Um… you have a nice… face."_

Ellie laughed as she shifted in her seat.

"_Why, thank you, Daryl Dixon."_

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

_Ellie managed to jumpstart a car, driving as far from the station as possible._

_What am I supposed to now?_

_Keep going. That's what Dan told me to do._

_Her eye grew heavy is nightfall approached. Every day seemed longer._

_She pulled over to the side of the road, locking her doors, then crawling to the back seat and laying down, curling up in attempt to warm herself from the cold night._

_She hadn't spoken a word since she last yelled at Mike before killing him._

_Okay. Ground rules._

_One, trust no one._

_Two, keep going, survive. No matter what it takes._

_Three, stay away from Knoxville for good._

_Four, trust no one._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

"_So what about you? How did you end up being a part of this group?" _Ellie asked Daryl attempting to initiate a conversation.

"_What do you mean?" _ Daryl already seemed uptight for it ever being brought up.

"_I guess what I mean is, what's your story? How did you get here?"_

It took a moment for Daryl to decide what to say, but he stuck with his response.

"_I don't want to talk about it."_

"_Oh…" _Ellie sighed as she returned to her position of leaning her head against the window and looking out the glass.

"_You never finished yours anyways." _Daryl added.

"_It doesn't have a happy ending." _This time Ellie felt uncomfortable.

Daryl didn't bother to respond to her, leaving it open ended.

"_I found him after several weeks…" _Ellie said as she kept her eyes from meeting Daryl's.

"_Who?"_

"_The man who left my fiancée and I for dead… I survived, but Dan didn't."_

Daryl listened intently without hinting at any expression.

"_I… I shot his knees. Then I pushed him out of a window. It was on the third floor… The fall didn't kill him. Instead, I shot a nearby car so the walkers could find him…I…"_

Ellie couldn't finish her sentence. Her eyes watered as she turned so Daryl couldn't see her face. She didn't feel proud as she told the story. She didn't feel like a human.

"_I don't feel good." _ Ellie finished.

Daryl kept his eyes on the road, thinking about his own issues and the choices he made.

"_If I had done the same thing, most of this group would be dead."_

Ellie looked over at Daryl, confused to what he meant.

"_What?"_

Defensively, Daryl furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at her in an irritated manner.

"_Do you feel better about yourself?" _Daryl asked brusquely.

Ellie felt attacked.

"_No. If that makes you happy." _Ellie snapped back.

Daryl didn't respond; He didn't have to, he was driving. His silence ticked her off.

"_So I suppose you're judging me now?" _ Ellie instigated.

"_I didn't say that, did I?"_

"_So what the hell are you saying? Stop being so fucking mysterious!"_

"_What's more important, getting back at someone or surviving?"_

"_Aren't they the same damn thing?"_

"_No!" _Daryl barked at her, causing her to fall silent.

"_I suppose it's all easy to make these choices, isn't it. Being all righteous when you never lost anyone!" _Ellie looked out the window again.

"_You don't know anything!" Daryl raised the volume of his voice._

Ellie looked at him angrily.

_No wonder I started to prefer being on my own._

"_You know what? I don't need this from you."_

Ellie turned around, opening the window to the bed of the truck.

"_What the hell are you doing?" _Daryl asked, as he juggled his attention between the road and Ellie.

Without responding, Ellie dumped her backpack through the window, then began to slide through it to the other side.

"_Hey! Ellie! What the hall are you doing!"_

"_Shut up!" _Ellie shouted back as the top half of her body was through the window.

Once she was completely though, she sat down cross legged, as she put on her jacket angrily.

"_You're bat shit!"_

"_And you're just plain shit!" Ellie shouted back before closing the window behind her._

She then resumed to sharpen her knife with the block with _his_ block. Holding it up to the view of the rearview mirror so Daryl could clearly see, knowing it would irritate him.

_Redneck douchebag…_

Daryl growled and mumbled under his breath. Continuing to drive, he looked through his rearview habitually to make sure the thin little woman wouldn't fly away in the wind.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Well, there!  
>Review and you shall be rewarded with more chapters!<br>3


	5. Convenience Stores

Feeling the truck slow down to a stop, Ellie woke up from the nap she took, curled up in a corner of the bed of the truck. She sat up to see a small deserted town up ahead.

She jumped out of the truck as the group gathered around Rick and Shane.

_"I think this would be a good time for a supply run." Rick placed his arms on his hips eyeing the group for volunteers. _

"_I'll go." _Ellie chimed in, almost unnoticed.

Half of the people in the huddled group looked at her in a perplexed manner.

"_I think it would be best if one of the men went instead." _Shane said looked over at Ellie with a raised eyebrow.

"_I'm fine, I've survived on my own all this time so far before you guys found me."_

People continued to stare at her blankly.

"_I would feel more comfortable if Daryl went with you." _Rick insisted politely.

Ellie glanced up at him and let out a heavy sigh. Daryl was silent but compliant.

"_Fine."_

"_Let's get this over with." _Daryl said as he headed over to his truck to get his crossbow.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

_In Atlanta, Ellie felt safe enough, making enough distance between herself and her past._

_She rummaged through the shelves of a convenience store, looking for medicine, food, and any other means to survive._

_Her hands patted through the shelves, stopping and looking at items of interest, moving fast and quietly. _

_Even with all of the time in the world, she felt rushed._

I have to keep moving before more of those walkers show up.

_Hearing the bells tied to the handle of the front door, Ellie, turned around, lifting her gun and pointing it towards the entrance in one swift motion._

"_How are you going to point a gun at me, I haven't even done anything wrong yet."_

_The voice was of a man with a southern accent. Ellie could only see his silhouette with the light of the sun breaking through behind him._

"_What do you want?" Ellie asked, keeping her aim steady on the man. _

_She hadn't seen another living human being since she killed Mike._

"_Same thing as you."_

"_Yeah? What's that?"_

"_Some fucking food." The man wheezed out a laugh as she stepped closer._

_Ellie's aim didn't budge, as she finally was able to see the man's face._

_Older, with short buzzed hair. His eyes were blue and every untrusting. He wore brown leather vest. He was a total hick. But his most memorable feature was that he was missing his right hand. The stump was wrapped in a cloth covered in dried blood._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

Ellie folded the list of things to get and stuffed it in her back pocket of her jeans as she walked along with Daryl towards the small town.

She took out both of her knives from the strap around her hips as they approached the convenience store.

"_Try not to slow me down too much." _Ellie said as her eyes started to scan the building.

"_Don't make me have to save your ass." _ Daryl quipped back as he began to load his crossbow.

Daryl took the lead as he peered into the windows of the store from the corner, then turned around to face Ellie.

"_There's three geeks in there, easy enough."_

"_Let's storm the castle already." _ Ellie pushed around him to get through the door, Daryl following close behind her.

The closest walker instantly noticed the pair, looking up with a growl.

"_This one's mine." _Ellie whispered.

She twirled the knives in her hands as the walker limped towards her; she took slow steps closer with unwavering eye contact. The walker grew more irritable as the gap between them grew smaller. As the walker reached towards her, Ellie kicked the walker to its back, and then leaped on in to stab the walker with the face with one of her knives.

Ellie looked up to see the second walker moving towards her fast.

Daryl aimed his crossbow but was beat by Ellie as she threw her second knife to the walker's forehead with precision and force, sending it to the ground.

"_What the…" _Daryl watched Ellie retrieved her knives, noticing the third walker rush towards her without her noticing. He quickly aimed and shot an arrow through the temple, the body of the walker falling close beside Ellie, startling her.

"_Not to shabby." _Ellie smirked.

"_Impressive…" _Daryl mumbled under his breath as he watched Ellie stand up, their eyes meeting making him uncomfortable.

"_But you still made me save your ass." _Daryl added as he headed over next to her to retrieve his arrow.

"_Yeah, well I'm beating you two to one, so your argument is irrelevant." _Ellie retorted with a smirk.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

"_Hey. I'm not laughing. There's barely enough food here for me." Ellie refused to lower her gun._

"_First off, how 'bout you lower that gun. You're making me a little bit uncomfortable, sweet cheeks." The man raised his arms in the air to prove his innocence._

"_Why should I?"_

"_You say there isn't enough food. Seems to me you need a little help."_

"_No I don't, thank you very much." Ellie remained stern and untrusting._

"_Why that's no way to treat a nice guy."_

"_Piss off, find another place to find food."_

"Hey, watch the tone." The man's voice lost a bit of it's playfulness.

"_Is that a bite?" Ellie pointed her gun at his missing hand._

_The man looked at his stub as a rush of emotion surfaced on his face._

"_No."_

"_Well?"_

"_I was screwed over by a group of people that I thought I could trust. Left for dead."_

_Ellie stared at him, her eyes fixed on the honesty on his face. She finally lowered her gun._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

"_Aha! Wooo!" _Ellie has a bright smile on her face as she picked up a bottle of Captain Morgan rum that remained untouched.

"_Shut up, or do you enjoy the company of walkers?" _Daryl hissed from another isle.

"_They're debatably friendlier than you." _Ellie huffed as she held the bottle close to her, taking off her backpack to stash away her treasure.

"_I'm a nice guy, I dunno what you're talking about." _Daryl mumbled.

"_Ha! Good one."_

"_Why the hell are you making the racket for anyways?" _Daryl walked over to Ellie.

Ellie proudly held up the bottle of rum, Daryl stopped in his tracks; his thirst grew stronger in seconds.

"_It may or may be the last bottle of rum on earth. Either way, I plan to drink it as such." _Ellie said as she put it in her backpack.

Daryl sighed and stared at the girl with alcohol and a huge grin.

"_Don't worry, Daryl…" _Ellie walked up to him, standing closely in front of him, their faces inches away, patting his toned chest.

"_Where I come from, they taught me to share." _Ellie finished, triggering a small grin to grow on Daryl's face.

Ellie walked towards the door with the rest of the collected supplies for the group.

"_But if you go off telling anyone else in the group, so help me God, I will smash this bottle on your head. One bottle is not enough to go around. I'm not that sharing."_

Daryl snorted a chuckle as he followed behind her.

"_You have my word, little lady."_


	6. Better Off

With the group deciding to rest for the night pulled over along what had been decided to be a relatively safe road, everyone headed to sleep.

After setting up a tent that Carol had lent her, Ellie began to crawl in, but then stood back up and headed over to Daryl's truck where he was getting ready to sleep in the bed of his truck.

"_I'm a girl who keeps her promise." _Ellie said as she took out the bottle of rum.

Daryl looked over at her with a small smirk. _"Are you looking to get fucked up?"_

Ellie broke out in laughter.

"_Oh, you know I am."_

Daryl chuckled as he followed her to her tent.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

"_You were handcuffed to a pipe on the roof of a building?" Ellie suddenly felt as if she didn't have it that bad after all._

"_Yes ma'am. And I was helping them kill off them walkers before they did it." The one handed man spoke with sincerity. _

"_Have people lost all sense of humanity? I don't get it…" Ellie was surprised that she wasn't the only one to be betrayed for a few spare moments to live._

"_I guess so." The one handed man said innocently as Ellie followed beside him to the outskirts of the town in Atlanta she found him in. He mentioned to her he had a van that he used to het around and to sleep at night._

_Ellie was in deep thought as she took everything in, looking at the ground._

"Looks like it's just you and me."

The man cheered as he patted her on the back with his left hand.

"_Ey! There we go!"_

"But if we're going to stick together, we have to make a promise." Ellie looked at the smiling man.

"_And what is that, sweet cheeks?"_

"_That we won't do the same thing to each other."_

"_I wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was resting on the head of one of those walkers." The man said innocently._

"_And none of those stupid names, I have a name… it's Ellie."_

"Well, it's a pleasure, Ellie. I'm Merle."

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Ellie laughed hysterically, holding the nearly empty bottle in one hand.

"_Shut up, you're going to wake everyone up! Walkers included." _ Daryl playfully shoved Ellie to the ground where she muffled her giggles with the pillow.

"_You knew how to hunt but had no idea what poison oak was?" _Ellie tried to compose herself between outbursts of laughing.

"_You're an insensitive drunk, you know that." _Daryl said bitterly.

"_I'm so sorry. Sorry."_

Ellie began to giggle again.

"_Walkers don't sleep, Dixon." _Ellie broke out into laughter again.

_"Whatever…." _He snatched the bottle out of her hand.

_"Fine.. let's be serious now, grumpy." _Ellie grinned before trying to keep a straight face on.

"_I'm sorry." _Daryl blurted out before finishing up the bottle.

"_No need to apologize, I know what you meant." _Ellie giggled before sitting back up.

"_No…I'm sorry." _Daryl looked at her sullenly, his blue eyes seemed sincere, even with the laziness from the alcohol.

"_What for?"_

"_For what I said in the truck. I know that feeling." _Daryl avoided eye contact.

Ellie's smile disappeared, she had forgotten about it already.

"_It's in the past…" _Ellie attempted to shrug it off.

"_You okay?"_

The question Daryl had asked opened wounds she had been trying to ignore.

"_It's better being alone, and that's why I did it… I guess." _Ellie looked down, playing with a loose string on her pillow.

Daryl listened intently and quietly.

"_Well, you ain't alone anymore." _Daryl said softly, his raspy voice giving Ellie comfort.

Ellie looked up at Daryl, her lips curling into a soft smile.

Daryl's gaze broke as he looked down uncomfortably. Ellie shifted closer, her face moving closer to his.

"_What the hell are you doing?" _Daryl asked awkwardly, unable to move away.

"_Shut up." _Ellie retorted quietly before closing her eyes and softly kissing his lips. They weren't as rough as she imagined they'd be.

Ellie pulled away, looking at Daryl with a small smile, laying back down oh her pillow.

Daryl then moved above her, on his knees and hands, his eyes scanning her soft wet lips, her long curls spread across the pillow, her skin seemed soft and untouched, even with the end of the world happening. His train of thoughts was interrupted as Ellie pilled him into a deep, hard kiss; her tongue found his.

Between heavy breaths, Daryl pressed his body against hers as she bit his lower lip, feeling him get hard against her body. Her hands ran through his hair, gently pulling at it as he deepened the kiss.

Daryl's rough hands trailed down her waist, finding the button of her cut off shorts, roughly unbuttoning them as his lips trailed down her neck. Ellie let out a heaving gasp as his hand slipped under her shorts.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

_Ellie and Merle managed to make a home out of a motel for a couple of days. _

_She grew acclimated and comfortable with his presence as they moved from place to place in Atlanta, avoiding the most populated areas._

"_Where did you find this silencer?" Merle asked as he rummaged through Ellie's backpack while she cleaned her knives._

"_Dan found it on a supply run and gave it to me as a gift." Ellie said from the kitchen._

"_Hey, what are you doing in my bag anyways? Piss off." Ellie added as she scratched at the walker gunk on her blades with a cloth._

"_Who's Dan?"_

"_My fiancée, Merle."_

"Oh, yeah, yeah..." He trailed off as he eyed the silencer.

"_This thing is priceless in a world infested with walkers." Merle added._

"_I know it is, now put it away."_

"_Sure thing, sugar tits. No need to get feisty." _

_Ellie rolled her eyes as she walked over to put the contents of her backpack away, all of her valuable goods were sprawled across the small wooden dining table._

"_See anything you like?" Ellie asked irritably._

"_Yeah I do." Merle winked at her as he bit his lips with a grin._

_Ellie scoffed angrily. Merle was getting to comfortable._

"_You know, when I met you, I knew you were from the south. But I didn't know you were one of those southern douche bags." Ellie said as she put on her backpack, glaring the grinning man._

"_Look at the little hamster get all riled up." Merle teased as he gathered his things._

"_Fuck you." Ellie sighed with a small chuckle._

_The asshole big brother I never had._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

Ellie woke up well before dawn with a spitting headache. She glanced over at Daryl who was fast asleep. She looked down to see her shorts unbuttoned and sighed.

Last night was a blur, but Ellie clearly remembered Daryl falling asleep before hitting home run.

As she zipped and buttoned back up her shorts, she smiled and rolled her eyes at Daryl.

_It's getting too comfortable again._

Ellie quietly left the tent and gathered her things. Glancing over at the top of the RV, she saw Shane keeping watch. Waiting for him to turn the other way, she then made her run for it, heading towards the road.

_It's better this way. You're used to being alone anyways._


	7. Empty

Daryl slowly opened his eyes, softly groaning as he felt the hang over quickly take its wrath. The night was a blur to him. He played back as much as he could in his head. The kissing, the heavy breathing, him slipping her the finger, she began to go down on him, memory started to blur at this point.

He tried to think longer and harder before sitting up and opening his eyes to blame Ellie for an anti climactic evening.

_"You fell asleep, that's some foul play!"_

His head banged like a drum, causing him to fall back down on his back, noticing that he was in fact alone in the tent.

"_This girl…." _Daryl trailed off as he tiredly rubbed his eyes with his palms.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Ellie wandered off the road to the small boonies beside the road, making sure to get lost. She tried to move as quickly and quietly as she could towards no particular direction. Unlike the group she ran into, her traveling had no goal other than to survive.

She strolled along past trees and bushes, moving deeper into the woods , looking around to make sure she wouldn't have a surprise attack from a walker.

_I gotta re-establish some ground rules if I ever want to continue flying solo..  
><em>

_One, trust no one._

_Two, keep going, survive. No matter what it takes._

_Three, no more rum. No matter how much you think you miss it._

_Four, trust no one._

Ellie walked on top of a log, spreading her arms out to balance as she placed one foot in front of another. Quietly humming Johnny Cash's _Walk the Line _as she walked forward, she then froze hearing rustling from afar.

Her eyes scanned her surroundings before she moved forward, slowly walking forward as she looked around.

"_This is the part in the movie when someone would say it's quiet… Too quiet…" _ Ellie murmured to herself.

She stepped forward, her right foot breaking through an imperfection of the large log ste was walking on. Her foot broke deep into the wood, getting it caught in a slanted angle, the wood scratching her flesh on her ankle.

_"Ow, fuck!" _ Ellie gasped as she fell forward, straining her ankle in an awkward angle, causing her to yelp.

Scrambling to where her foot was caught, Ellie pulled at her leg where her foot was caught. Her foot didn't budge.

"_You gotta be fucking kidding me!" _ Ellie gasped._  
><em>

She reached at her lower back to get one of her holstered knifes. Patting around her back, she realized her belt was empty. The knives were back at camp.

"_Shit!"_

Panicking, Ellie began to furiously pull at her leg, making it cut her strained ankle, sending sharp shivers down her spin and a groan out of her lips.

"_This is some 127 Hours shit right here." _ Ellie gasped to herself.

She sighed as she covered her face with her hands impatiently, looking up with a sarcastic laugh.

"_No it isn't. Aron Ralston had a knife. I don't even have that…" _She nodded as she sat on the log.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

Daryl stumbled out of the tent, holding both of Ellie's knives that she had left. Squinting at the bright light, he stood up and stretched.

He then walked over to the group where they seemed to have been having breakfast next to the RV.

"_Hungry for some spam?" _Glenn offered Daryl, holding an opened can over to him as he walked by.

"_It's raw though, just to warn you. But it tastes like ha…" Before Glenn could finish his sentence, Daryl had snatched the tin can out of Glenn_'s hands, shoving Ellie's knives through his belt. Causing Dale to chuckle.

"_I don't think Daryl minds, Glenn." _Dale said with a smirk.

"_Where's Ellie?" _Daryl asked before stuffing a slice of span on his mouth.

"_Your partner in crime is probably still asleep." _ Carol said as she combed her daughter's hair.

Daryl looked over at Carol and froze.

"_Something wrong Daryl?" _Rick asked, noticing the look on Daryl's face almost instantly.

"_She's not in her tent…What do you mean partner in crime?" _Daryl asked.

"_Well you went on that supply run together, and based on the results, you make a good team." _Carol said innocently, missing what Daryl said before his question.

"_How do you know? Did you check?" _ Rick asked, standing up in concern.

"_Yeah… I was going to give her back her knives."_

Shane stood up abruptly. _"I knew there was something about her. I told you, Rick. We shouldn't have trusted her."_

"_What the hell do you mean?" _Daryl furrowed her eyebrows as he approached Shane.

"_Everyone check your belongings to make sure nothing important is missing." _ Shane raised his voice in a commanding tone, walking past Daryl, shoving him with his shoulder.

Daryl tossed the tin can on the ground and quickly paced to his truck, grabbing his crossbow, then headed to the side of the road.

"_Daryl! Where are you going?" _Rick shouted from the RV.

"_What do you think I'm doing?" _Daryl retorted before emerging into the woods.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

Ellie furiously kicked dirt up in the air with her other foot as her hopes wavered. She had been trying to break through some more wood to get her foot out with ease, but it was to tough for her hands, and her foot was too slanted, she needed her knives.

"_How the hell did I manage to get into this situation anyways? What am I? Fucking Bigfoot?"_

Ellie emptied her backpack beside the log to see what she had to work with. Her gun with the attached silencer was probably the most helpful tool among the rest of her contents.

She contemplated shooting her foot off for a moment, but then quickly shrugged it off realizing fighting off walkers would prove to be difficult with one foot. That's if she didn't bleed to death.

_I wonder how Merle managed to cover up his bloody stump…_

_Not that I want him around again just to ask…_

_Asshole…_

_Is stump an offensive word?_

Ellie's train of thought was interrupted with another rustling sound from far away returned. She froze again, looking around in all directions, grabbing her gun with a tight and ready grip.

_This is not how I'm going to go._

Ellie's eyes narrowed to where the rustling was coming from, seeing three walkers slowly wandering towards her.

She frantically shifted to aim her gun at the first of the three, squinting one eye to aim at her far target.

_Through the head._

Letting out a deep breath, Ellie pulled the trigger, making a clicking sound.

Ellie gasped, then heaved panicking breaths.

_Empty._

_You have to be fucking kidding me._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Hope you guys like :) Thanks for the patience for my slow updates, but I promise I'll make them worth the wait. The next one is coming sooner than you think ;D

Please review and gimme your two cents! They're much appreciated!

xxxx cheers!


	8. Trust Issues

_Ellie's bloody hands trembled as she ran back to the camp she and Merle set up off the side of a deserted gas station._

"_Hey! You're back from the supply run! What's the news?" Merle stumbled to his feet as he had an uncontrollable laugh._

"_The whiskey, get it out, I need it." Ellie said hastily as she scrambled next to their belongings._

"_What whisky?" Merles said as he kicked the empty bottle as far as he could, making it hit the side of his van. Ellie looked up at the empty bottle, that's when she looked up at him to see he had a shit-eating grin on his face. The same grin he always has when they find alcohol and gets drunk._

"_Are you fucking kidding me?" Ellie held her hands up in the air for Merles to see. The blood on her palms dripped down her forearm. The cuts still had shards of glass punctured in them._

"_What the hell happened to you?" Merle said as he stumbled over to her._

"_A walker broke through the glass door at the small mall down the road to get to me. He tackled me…I landed on the glass…"_

"_Did you get the fucker?" Merle interrupted._

"Yeah… that's not the point though, the point is that I needed that alcohol to rinse my hands in so I wouldn't get a blood infection."

"_What did I do?" Merle was too drunk to keep up._

"_Nevermind…" _

_Ellie b-lined straight to the gas station to find something, anything._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

Ellie scrambled and looked around to see what she had to work with; the walkers were slowly closing in on her but hadn't noticed her yet.

She grabbed a rock the size of a soft ball near the log and held it close to her body protectively as she watched the walkers intently, waiting for one of them to get close enough for her to throw the heavy rock at.

"_Come on. This is easy." _Ellie lied to herself.

As soon as one of the walkers was several feet away, it glanced over at her and growled, walking at a faster pace towards her.

Ellie then stood up and threw the rock as hard as she could, having lucky aim and hitting the walker at the center of his face, making some of his skull cave in.

Ellie grinned as she glanced over at the walker, and then shifted her eyes at the other two.

They had noticed her as well, both rushing towards her.

"_Shit… shit, shit, shit, fuck…" _Ellie looked around frantically for anything, but there was nothing, no branches, no more rocks. Just dirt and leaves.

As the first walker reached at her, she dodged it's grasp and grabbed it by the hair on the back of it's head, making it growl loudly.

She slammed its head against the log repeatedly until she heard the crunching sound that would indicate she got the second one down. She then tossed the walker to the side, wiping the gunk she got on her cheek from killing it.

She kept eye contact with the last walker as it ran straight towards her. Her heart pounding as the space between them closed in.

Just as the walker was nearly within arm's reach of her, an arrow went straight through the side of its head. Ellie gasped and looked at the direction from where the arrow came from.

She saw Daryl running towards her direction, feeling her heart clump up to her throat.

"_I told you not to make me have to save you." _Daryl said angrily as he approached her.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

_With most of the beverages cleared out, Ellie managed to find a few beers in the gas station, which she decided was better than nothing. She poured the beer over her shaking hands, washing most of the blood away. She then gently pulled out the small remaining shards of glass out of her flesh, softly whimpering as she did so._

_She then cut a strip of cloth off of her shirt, exposing her thin stomach, and wrapped it around each of her cut hands._

_She stood up from the ground of the small store of the gas station, wiping the tears from her cheeks._

_A walker popped out of the corner from one of the isles of junk food._

"_Give me a break." Ellie moaned._

_She ran towards the doorway out, pulling the chain that was wrapped around one of the handles off. The walker pulled on her hair, making her scream as she whipped the chain behind her, hitting the walker and making it fall to its knees._

_She quickly turned around and wrapped the chain around its neck, pulling both ends, the skin was decomposed enough for her to pull hard enough and decapitate the walker. _

_As soon as the head rolled away, she fell back whimpering in pain from the pressure on her cut hands from pulling the chain._

_After recollecting herself, she got up and stomped over back to where Merle was singing incoherently as he gazed at the night sky._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Daryl walked closer to Ellie, eyeing her stuck foot.

"_How the hell did you manage to get in this mess?" _Daryl spat out as he looked up at Ellie.

"_I've been asking myself the same thing." _Ellie sighed exasperated.

"_Thank you… I owe you." _Ellie added, looking up at the angry redneck.

"_You done trying to run away?" Daryl stared her down._

"_I'm sorry, I have trust issues…" _Ellie murmured as her eyes traveled down to the ground.

"_Why is it so hard to believe that we're not going to screw you over?" _Daryl asked bitterly, his glare stayed strong.

"_Cause I don't have a good track record of running into the nicest of people."_

"_Listen. I'm not going to hurt you okay?" _Daryl stepped closer, his face inches from Ellie's she looked up at his sincere, angry blue eyes, not noticing that a small smile crept up on her face.

"_Forgive me?" _Ellie whispered into his lips.

"_Not for falling asleep on me, you tease." _Daryl mumbled.

"_YOU'RE THE ONE WHO FELL ASLEEP." Ellie shouted defensively._

"_Ha!" _Daryl smirked, staring her down.

"_I always finish what I start." _ Ellie said with a smirk, her face getting closer to Daryl's.

Daryl smirked back at her. He pulled out one of her knives and broke through some of the wood trapping her ankle, chipping pieces away. In a short moment, he pulled her ankle free.

Ellie hopped from the log on one foot.

"_Is that some sort of mating call dance or something?" _Daryl teased at her, Ellie glare as she sat on the log.

"_It's sprained you douche." _Darryl chuckled, handing her back her knives.

He then leaned close to her face, placing one hand on each side of her on the log.

"_Promise you won't run away again."_

Ellie glared at him with a smirk. She hadn't made any promises for the longest time.

"_I promise."_

Daryl smiled, staring at her.

"_You look proud of yourself…. Alright, let's head back to the camp now."_

Daryl didn't budge, moving his gaze to her lips. Ellie then smiled back at him.

Daryl pulled her head into a rough kiss, his hand holding her loose hair tightly. He then picked her up, letting her legs wrap around his hips as the kisses became more passionate. Ellie pulled him close to her with her hands on his neck.

He pressed her against a nearby tree, unbuttoning her shorts as she grabbed his crotch, making him harden. She massaged his bulge as he began to bite her lower lip, letting out a raspy groan. She then quickly unbuttoned his pants, moving hands to pull him inside her with his thrusting against her. She let out a gasping moan as he began to quicken the pace, thrusting harder and harder as he kept her pressed against the tree.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Please review :)  
>Thanks!<p> 


	9. Left Behind

"_MERLE!"_

_Ellie shouted at the drunken hick as she paced towards him, her bloody, cut hands bleeding through the cloth bandages as she clenched them angrily._

_Merle sat up and turned to look at his partner in crime with a dumbfounded look on his face._

"_Simmer down, sweet cheeks, you're gonna attract the walkers if you keep your outside voice."_

"_I could give a flying fuck!" Ellie kicked his bag over to step closer to him._

"_What the hell jumped up your ass?" Merle stumbled to his feet, his delightful evening was being disturbed by this woman._

"_Do you have any fucking idea what I've went through today?" Ellie shouted at him, her bloody hands waving in the air, unnoticed by the drunk._

"_Why don't you enlighten me?"_

"_I was nearly killed at least three times today! Look at my hands! I could die from this, Merle! I needed the whiskey to clean them off, and when I get here, you're shit faced drunk! I went to the station and almost got killed there! Thank you for all your fucking help!"_

"Whoa, slow down there. This isn't my fault. Why are you blaming me for all the trouble you're getting yourself into!"

_Ellie shoved him, making him fall onto his back._

"_I'm over this! Fuck you! It's been nothing but me having to clean after every mistake you make! You're no help!"_

_Merle got up angrily. His motor skills seemed to have returned with the adrenaline of his rage. His eyes lost their laziness._

"_DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME AGAIN." Merle shouted, enraged._

_Ellie flipped him the bird and picked up her belongings, then began to walk the opposite direction they came from._

_Merle huffed as he stomped after her. He wasn't planning on letting her off that easy._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

Daryl walked slowly beside Ellie, holding her hand to support her with the weight she had trouble with putting on her sprained foot. She limped along, trying to move fast to prove she wasn't to hurt. Daryl moved a bit slower to boost her confidence.

"How much does everyone hate me for sneaking away?"

"Not at all really, just Shane, but he's always half way to bat shit crazy with his reasoning and conclusions."

"What does that mean?" Ellie look up at Daryl.

"He doesn't trust you." Daryl said honestly.

Ellie lightly chuckled at the irony. "I suppose I can't blame him."

"I can. You've been nothing but helpful since we found you."

"Have I?" Ellie looked up ay Daryl again, challenging his own reasoning. He remained silent, avoiding eye contact for a short moment.

"Hey…" Ellie said, stopping in her tracks, glancing up at him with a smile.

"Why you grinning?" Daryl looked down at Ellie, furrowing his eyebrows suspiciously.

"Cause I wanna say thank you." Ellie was growing comfortable with the wall that Daryl was somehow able to break down.

A smile then crept up on Daryl's face.

"You owe me."

Ellie lightly laughed.

"I think I already repaid the favor handsomely." Ellie said biting her lip.

"What if I wanted another favor?"

Ellie then pulled out her knives, and then secured them on his belt, making Daryl look at her with a chuckle.

"You know where my tent is, and you're going to have to return my knives."

With that, Ellie began to walk forward again, Daryl moving to catch up to her again, propping out his elbow so Ellie could hold onto his arm for support again.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

_Ellie screamed as Merle pulled by the hair from behind, throwing her to the ground._

"_Now that's not how you treat a friend." Merle said as he stepped above her._

_Ellie moved up to her elbows, shifting to get on her feet again._

"Just leave me alone Merle, you've done enough damage." Ellie said exasperated.

"_No, I think I need to teach you a lesson." Merle was still clearly drunk, but the alcohol didn't stunt his strength as he pushed her back down_

"_I SAID PISS OFF!" Ellie shouted as she tried to get on her feet a second time._

_Merle didn't like the tone of her voice._

"It's time to you shut the fuck up now." Merle pushed her down, this time moving his body above hers forcefully. Now they were both on the ground.

_Ellie frantically tried to push him off of her, but he was far too strong._

"_Shhh, hush now. No need to be upset, we're friends, remember?" Merle said with a raspy tone as he pinned her wrists down to the ground with one hand._

"_Get off!" Ellie whined, her eyes beginning to water with rage._

_Merles forcefully pressed his lips against hers as he unbuttoned his pants. Ellie shook her head, desperately trying to keep him off, his heavy breath of whiskey made her queasy. _

"_I SAID SETTLE DOWN." Merle said angrily, as his grasp on her wrists tightened._

_Ellie fought back her tears, as she suddenly lay still, no longer resisting. The only noise was her breathing slowing down; the only movement was her chest slowly rising and falling from her calmer breathing._

_Merle looked at her, perplexed for a moment. He knew her as a fighter. _

_Accepting, he then grinned down at her emotionless face._

"That's better…" he whispered to her emotionless face.

_Ellie's hand then broke free from his loosened grip, moving it down the side of his body, trailing to his inner thigh._

"_Ohh… see I knew you were a nice girl." Merle grinned as he pressed his lips against hers again._

_In that moment, Ellie moved her hand to the knives strapped to her own thigh as Merle was distracted._

_In one quick motion, she pulled it out and stabbed him in the back, causing to sit up with a pained holler._

"YOU BITCH!"

_Ellie kicked him off of her, quickly moving to her feet, grabbing her things._

"GET BACK HERE!"

_Ellie glanced over at Merles who stumbled on all fours, trying to get to his feet. She stomped on his right hand then kicked him in the face._

"_I'll say it one last time. Piss off!"_

_Merle was sprawled on the ground, hollering in pain and rage. She pulled her knife out of his back and began to run off._

_She considered going back to do more damage to him, to leave him for dead. Then decided he wasn't worth the effort._

_Ellie ran with all of her strength, turning around to see Merle was running after her, but stumbling in his drunkenness, making the gap between them grow until she never had to see him again._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

"Missing anything, Shane?" Daryl said in a snarky tone as they emerged from the woods.

The group was putting their things together in preparation to start moving again.

Shane didn't bother to respond; instead he glared at him, then looked down at Ellie.

"What happened, are you alright?" Lori cut in front of Shane to head towards Ellie, by the look on her face she had an argument with someone in the camp while they were out.

"Yea, I just got it caught and sprained, I'll be fine." Ellie waved it off.

"Where have you been?" Glenn asked innocently as Lori took Ellie from Daryl's hands, pulling her arm over her shoulder to help her to Dale's chair.

"I… had a really bad dream. I needed some space to collect my thoughts." Ellie lied as she avoided all eye contact.

Daryl remained silent for her.

"Well next time, collect your thoughts somewhere less dangerous, or you'll be left behind." Shane said sternly as he continued to put things away.

Lori quickly turned her head from Ellie's side to Shane to give him an angry glare.

_So the argument was between them._

"We wouldn't have." Lori said to Ellie under her breath.

"Yes we would have." Shane called out stubbornly.

As Lori helped her to her seat, Ellie shifted uncomfortably, a shifted feeling in her stomach. The comfortable feeling she had a few moments ago disappeared.

"This conversation is over." Rick raised his voice, looking exhausted. Ellie glanced up at him to give him a supportive smile but she noticed that he too was too caught up in his thoughts to notice.


End file.
